Rousey: Hearing Me Speak is a Privilege

While she was arguably the revolutionary face of the UFC during her 2012-2015 title reign, Ronda Rousey has been hard to catch in the spotlight since losing the women’s bantamweight title to Holly Holm at UFC 193.

And following her December 2016 loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, Rousey seems to have become less and less willing to discuss her MMA career, even while she has since moved on to become one of the newest superstars of the WWE.

As reported by MMAjunkie, Rousey appeared at a Q&A at the Wild Card West boxing gym with director Peter Berg to promote their upcoming film Mile 22. During the session, Rousey elaborated her reasoning of stepping away from the limelight.

“We live in an age of trial by Twitter,” Rousey said. “What is really gained by stating opinion on anything? It whittles people down. It gets cut and pasted 10 times and it’s in (a) headline.

(Famous people) keep more and more of it to themselves. Why should I talk? I believe hearing me speak is a privilege, and it’s a privilege that’s been abused, so why not revoke it from everyone? I don’t believe public criticism beating you down is the right thing to do.

Rousey, however, did admit that the losses she suffered while with the UFC did have a great impact on her emotionally. Rousey attributed such consequences to her high expectations, criticisms following her losses and her upbringing.

“I did a whole lot of crying, isolating myself, (husband Travis Browne) held me and let me cry and it lasted two years,” Rousey said. “I couldn’t have done it alone. There’s a lot of things you have to remember. Every missed opportunity is a blessing in disguise. I had to learn from experience. From the worst things, the best things have come as a result. Time is a great teacher. It’s that belief that time passes, even bad times.”

My parents expected me to be special, so I expected to be special. I was just trying to create the job I wanted, and I wouldn’t have the audacity to do that if my mom didn’t tell me I could. But one thing my mother never taught me was how to lose. She never wanted me to entertain it as a possibility. She’d say: ‘Let it suck. It deserves to suck.’